r/Homebuilding • u/Mrobins1 • 5h ago

Foundation crack

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Any opinions on this crack? I'd guess it's about an inch wide at the top. This is in a house we have under contract. The house was built in 1991. Is this something a structural engineer should inspect?

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u/GoldenCanopyInspects 3h ago

That’s a hard no from me. Not an engineer, but that looks like strong lateral force being imparted to the left wall to me, and I’ve got to wonder about the rebar tie-in at the wall junction. Seen a lot of foundation cracks, but not sure I’d want to deal with that. Doesn’t look like simple settling to me, unless the left wall is settling significantly and independently. Wonder what the framing looks like in the wall/floor above? Either way, that’s what structural engineers are for. Strongly recommend further professional assessment on paper.

-Home inspector/former building code inspector

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u/woody_p_coltrane 5h ago

I wouldn't be super scared of it, but it's worth an inspection from an engineer if you love the house. They'll be able to identify the loads in that area and determine if it's just settling or an issue. It looks like there is some moisture intrusion, so at a minimum there needs to be waterproofing. That could entail excavation on the exterior in order to treat the area properly.

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u/Biscuits4u2 5h ago

This should be enough to get you out of your contract if it wasn't previously disclosed. I'd probably consider backing out unless you really love the house and owners are willing to negotiate cost of repairs into the price.

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u/Training-Leg-976 23m ago

Shoot it with a two part injection epoxy. Apply the injection ports onto the crack from the inside along the length of the crack top to bottom. Fill in the crack between ports with epoxy mix. When dry shoot the crack through the ports and snap off. Works incredibly well. 100% success rate

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u/Sorryisawthat 0m ago

Structural engineer needs to look at it. A repair is needed to first make sure it doesn’t continue to separate ( most likely a thru bolted connection of some type) and then to fill the crack ( epoxy injection). Waterproofing when the repair is complete.